


Two Intangibles

by thegrimshapeofyoursmile



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, breaking up, geraltxdandelion, previous yen/geralt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 02:43:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5030590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegrimshapeofyoursmile/pseuds/thegrimshapeofyoursmile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a fill for the tumblr prompt, "Geralt tells Yennefer he can no longer be with her, for he's in love with Dandelion." It got a bit away from me, which is why it is longer than I intended it to be. Ah,well,the more heartbreak the better.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Two Intangibles

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fill for the tumblr prompt, "Geralt tells Yennefer he can no longer be with her, for he's in love with Dandelion." It got a bit away from me, which is why it is longer than I intended it to be. Ah,well,the more heartbreak the better.

Yennefer does not cry, not really. She just sits there motionlessly, her beautiful, pale hands resting without so much as a twitch on her thighs. And yet, there is pain in every line of her mouth, pain in every corner of her eyes. Geralt, unsure as ever on how to soothe her pain, kneels at her feet and does not dare touch her. He should not feel ashamed, he thinks, and yet he does, which is one of the many reasons he is leaving. 

"Why?" she says and there it is, the faintest crack in her seemingly unaffected demeanor, a slight tremble of her lips, nothing more. "What can he give you that I can't? Where have I failed?"

"Nowhere," he says and thinks, _everywhere_ , and wishes he could love her like he loved her before, but the fever has broken and there is nothing that can be done about it.  
The sound of her laughter is humorless and bitter. “You haven’t answered my first question, Geralt.”

“I’m not sure if you really want to hear the answer.”

“I do,” she says, her voice sharp as steel and her eyes at least as hard. The knuckles of her hands turn white as they tighten against her thighs. “Tell me. I want to know – I am really interested in the reasons of you leaving me for that bard.”

“I am tired, Yen,” he says, and maybe it is the wrong thing to say, but this is what he feels and she asked for it. He is not obliged to protect her from this, from the breaking edges between them, from herself. “I am tired whenever I am with you, I feel drained-“

“Drained!” she echoes and laughs hollowly again. “I am not a vampire, Geralt, it’s not me who is the monster here-“

“Neither am I,” he snaps and feels himself losing it again. When he talks again, he is standing up in the process, moving around in the room like a caged animal. “I don’t feel tired with him, you know, I don’t feel as if I have to carefully consider every step I take around him, every word I say – you always watch me and I understand – how can you fully trust me if you don’t even fully trust yourself? Now, I don’t blame you, Yen, I really don’t – it’s just that I am tired. A few years ago, I had the hope that there would be more happy moments between us, but it always comes to this: Us hurting each other.”

“I am the only one who is hurting here,” Yennefer answers sharply and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “I am the only one who gets left behind here – you promised you’d be there – you told me you loved me, you bastard-“

“And I do,” he says as gently as he can, which quietens her. “I do, Yen. I will always love you, in one way or another. But love is not enough sometimes, and it’s never been enough for us to fully work. You had that dream of a house together-“

“I did,” she says, and her violet eyes are full of tears she refuses to shed. “I did – and you did too. He will never give you that, Geralt. He will never be able to make a home with you.”

“He already is home,” Geralt says and maybe it is a cruel thing to say. Yennefer certainly takes it in all its cruelty and breathes in deeply. 

“He is a fool,” she says after a long moment of silence in which they just stare at each other. “A daft man, a clown, a selfish prick in arrogant clothes-“

“And he is warm, and gentle,” Geralt answers quietly, “With a heart of gold just on the tip of his tongue, much more intelligent than he lets on. Don’t get fooled by how he presents himself – as someone who has utterly perfected using appearance to her advantage, you should know better. I never understood why you didn’t even bother getting to know him better, but I guess that would have just been beneath you.”

“Don’t make me the villain who drove you to do this,” she grouses, and now she is fuming with fury to overcome the pain.

“I don’t. You asked me what I see in him, what he can give me and ultimately it is but one thing, one thing that I value dearly.”

“I suspect you don’t talk about his cock,” she says, and there is a bitter smile twisting her face into something ugly. “Or maybe you do. Tell me, Geralt: What can he give you that I don’t?”

“Peace.”

That is what crumbles Yennefer’s cold shell at last and she turns her head away to not let him see her weakness. For a moment, there is only silence; Geralt looks at the elegant curve of her back, her raven-black locks tumbling over her shoulders like the waves of the sea at night. There is nothing he can do to make this easier for her; once again, they have driven each other to the edge. Geralt breathes out deeply and tiredly rubs his temples. 

“You know,” she finally says and this time, her voice is soft, as if she is telling a secret, “What he cn give you is not permanent. He is human, a mere mortal-“

“Yennefer, don’t,” he warns, bile rising in his throat, but Yennefer turns around and fixates him with hard, unforgiving eyes. 

“He is going to die,” she says and Geralt wants to slap her, turns his hands into tight fists instead. “And soon at that. He is old, that bard of yours, old for a human anyway, and you are going to watch him wither and die in front of you. You’re going to be alone after that, Geralt, utterly alone. You’re going to die alone, nobody to mourn you – not even Ciri, she won’t forgive you for this-“

“Stop,” he says, his voice as sharp as her tongue, and something ugly and bitter is settling deep in his belly. “Stop it, Yennefer.”

“The truth is ugly, isn’t it?”

“It’s not the truth that’s ugly here,” Geralt answers and that causes her to widen her eyes in the same pain he is feeling at this very moment. “It’s your demeanor towards me. This is what I meant, Yen – you hurt me, I hurt you, and at some point there is nothing but hurt between us. How much more should we forgive each other? How much more can we take? I can’t do this anymore, and I won’t. He is going to die, yes, but not tomorrow, and not the day after – and I am going to enjoy it while it lasts. There is nothing you can do about it.”

“I can try,” she says after a few momens with a voice so quiet that a normal person probably could not even hear her. “I can try to be different. I can try to…”

“No, Yen,” he says softly, his heart aching despite everything. “You’re perfect the way you are, just not for me, and I am not fitting for you. We have to let go, once and for all.”

“Well, I release you, then,” she says, and there is no bitterness left in her voice, only deep, deep sadness he cannot soothe. Somehow, that makes it even worse. She does not look at him, merely stares at her own hands and takes a deep breath. “Go, Geralt. Go to him. Despite everything you seem to think of me – I only ever wanted you to be happy. I thought I could be – but I guess I failed, and spectacularly so. Maybe we will get another chance in another life.”

“Goodbye, Yen,” he says, because there really is nothing else left to say anymore. Yennefer smiles, and it is that motion that causes the tears in her eyes to finally spill over. She makes no move to wipe them away.

“Goodbye,” she says almost gently, “Go in peace.”


End file.
